Missouri 8th Could Be a Model for Democrats Everywhere

The fact that 7-term incumbent Congresswoman Jo Ann Emerson is up on television already running negative ads against her Democratic opponent defies the norm of this year's midterms.

Emerson is in an overwhelming Republican district, which just so happens to contain Rush Limbaugh's childhood home.  Can't get more right wing than that can ya?  She was reelected in 2008 with 71% of the vote.  A very Democratic year mind you.  The only time she ever struggled was her first election in 1996, where she had to run as an Independent and faced 4 other candidates, one of which was a Republican.  Even that year, the two Republican/Independent candidates combined for 60% of the vote.  Her average percentage of vote for her 7 elections is 67%.  That's amazing.  It's also a very safe Republican district.  One of the safest in the country.

So why the need to go on teevee so early and so negative?  The reasons describe a lot about this election and how Democrats could model it all over the country especially on Health Care Reform.

Her opponent, Tommy Sowers, was a Major in the United States Army and a decorated Iraq war veteran.  He's also on record saying that he would have voted for Health Care Reform.  Great candidate for Democrats if you ask me.  A supporter of the president's milestone policy, an Iraq combat vet and a proponent of dismantling DADT running head to head with an incumbent Republican in one of the most Republican districts in the country has to be great news.

The Emerson Camp understands this too and has gone full throttle with a quick introductory commercial then quickly turning to a negative ad linking Sowers to Obama and Pelosi and blasting him for his support of health care reform which the Emerson Camp calls a government takeover.



An ad like this should have every Democratic strategist in the country licking their chops.  This is exactly what you want.  Republicans running against HCR and calling it a government takeover.  This is exactly what I would want because it gives Sowers the opportunity to debate HCR and tell the people of the 8th district that Republicans are lying.  Lying in a big way about some very basic stuff.

Let's get clear on this, largely because Democrats have done a horrible job gauging common sense.

Health Care Reform in no way was a government takeover.  Not one single hospital was seized by the government.  Not one doctor or nurse immediately became a federal employee.  The same is true for access to insurance and private insurance companies too.  Government did not take over one single aspect of any of it. 

Moreover, the companies themselves of all three major sectors of the health care industry-- insurance companies (including those participating in Medicare Advantage), hospitals, and pharmaceutical companies-- solidly refutes any notion that the HCR is a "government takeover."  Their stocks continue to climb, revenues continue to increase, and for-profit entities continue their involvement in the sector. "Government takeover" might be a convenient talking point for health reform opponents, but the performance of health care stocks and industry behavior since passage of the Affordable Care Act clearly reveal that the talking point has no basis in reality.

The key parts of the current U.S. system-- employer-provided insurance, Medicare for the elderly, Medicaid for the poor-- have not went anywhere.  HCR simply allows the government to create health insurance exchanges for people who have to buy insurance on their own, so they could more easily compare plans and prices.  Not one aspect of the American health care system was taken over by government.

This is an easy debate to wage and win.  Why not do it??  Make Emerson explain how not one doctor became a federal employee.  How is that possible if government took over health care?  The VA is an entirely government-run system.  Every doctor and every janitor is a federal employee.  Why aren't the doctors at Southeast Memorial Hospital not federal employees if Obama took over health care?

Democrats get too lost in the fiasco that they're being attacked rather than hitting back.  It seems as if they spend most of their time trying to find ways not to be attacked rather than standing up for the truth when they are attacked.  Hit her back on this one.  Run a rebuttal explaining to the people that government owns not one single private hospital, that 32 million people will get greater access to health care and that the HCR will actually reduce the deficit.

This is a perfect opportunity to finally wage a factual conversation about health care reform and the direction of this country.  Surely a combat veteran is itching for a good one.  It's now or never.